Despite not getting it at all, I joined Twitter recently, mainly because I was curious and because I felt that this might be one of those things that you can only understand by doing it. I've hardly embraced it, it must be said, and in truth have hardly done more than touch it in as tentative a fashion as I can. I don't really see how it's anything other than a timesink, I'm afraid.
I'm not saying that it doesn't have uses, because I'm sure it does, but I'm not convinced that those uses outweigh the time lost on it that might be spent doing other things. There've got to be serious opportunity costs there, for most people in real jobs anyway.
Twittering on your phone, perhaps, is different, seeing as it's something you can do while stuck in a lift or on the bus, say, but given that a friend of mine was at Croke Park on Saturday and missed BOD's drop goal because she was tweeting at the time, I'm not even convinced of that.
But anyway, I'm on Twitter, as I said, and I 'follow' - in that passive way - about eighty people, one of whom is Amber Benson, best known surely as Tara from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I was a little perturbed when she tweeted the other day to say that she was 'headin' over to the Hotel Cafe for some wine and women. Scratch that. Music and irish car bombs,' adding a few hours later that she, 'Did an irish car bomb all by myself.'
Did a what? Was this a drink, I wondered. Yes, it appears. I've checked, and it really is. An Irish Car Bomb is a cocktail of the sort technically termed a boilermaker, being a beer with a shot. In the past shots tended to be served on the side with boilermakers, but nowadays the tendency is to mix the two, often by dropping the shot into the beer, in the style of a Jägerbomb. Now that you know that, brace yourself.
An Irish Car Bomb is made by pouring three quarters of a pint of stout, almost certainly Guinness, and dropping into it a shot glass into which a half measure of whiskey, probably Jameson, has been floated on a half measure of Irish cream, probably Baileys. Sometimes, and this may be the most perverse part of the equation, a small peeled potato is put in the drink too, like an olive in a martini.
You'll not be surprised to know that this is an American concoction, or that it's none too popular in Irish pubs and bars. At home it's unheard of, but I gather that Irish bars abroad often refuse to serve them, though whether this is because the barmen find them offensive in a political or an aesthetic sense I do not know. Probably both.
I mean seriously. Can you imagine the damage that this would do to the head? This is sacrilege.
I'm not saying that it doesn't have uses, because I'm sure it does, but I'm not convinced that those uses outweigh the time lost on it that might be spent doing other things. There've got to be serious opportunity costs there, for most people in real jobs anyway.
Twittering on your phone, perhaps, is different, seeing as it's something you can do while stuck in a lift or on the bus, say, but given that a friend of mine was at Croke Park on Saturday and missed BOD's drop goal because she was tweeting at the time, I'm not even convinced of that.
But anyway, I'm on Twitter, as I said, and I 'follow' - in that passive way - about eighty people, one of whom is Amber Benson, best known surely as Tara from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I was a little perturbed when she tweeted the other day to say that she was 'headin' over to the Hotel Cafe for some wine and women. Scratch that. Music and irish car bombs,' adding a few hours later that she, 'Did an irish car bomb all by myself.'
Did a what? Was this a drink, I wondered. Yes, it appears. I've checked, and it really is. An Irish Car Bomb is a cocktail of the sort technically termed a boilermaker, being a beer with a shot. In the past shots tended to be served on the side with boilermakers, but nowadays the tendency is to mix the two, often by dropping the shot into the beer, in the style of a Jägerbomb. Now that you know that, brace yourself.
An Irish Car Bomb is made by pouring three quarters of a pint of stout, almost certainly Guinness, and dropping into it a shot glass into which a half measure of whiskey, probably Jameson, has been floated on a half measure of Irish cream, probably Baileys. Sometimes, and this may be the most perverse part of the equation, a small peeled potato is put in the drink too, like an olive in a martini.
You'll not be surprised to know that this is an American concoction, or that it's none too popular in Irish pubs and bars. At home it's unheard of, but I gather that Irish bars abroad often refuse to serve them, though whether this is because the barmen find them offensive in a political or an aesthetic sense I do not know. Probably both.
I mean seriously. Can you imagine the damage that this would do to the head? This is sacrilege.
3 comments:
That's so random.. The amber benson bit i mean..
Twitter is just a form of communication. So if you substitute other forms of communication into your comments on Twitter it might help you understand it more.
For example, if you miss seeing an event you're at because you are writing a letter to somebody telling them you are at the event, it should hardly be seen as a poor comment on letter-writing.
Similarly being on the phone is of course a timesink if you could be spending your time better elsewhere. The same goes for texting, and emailing, and ultimately for talking because talking and listening to others talking is wasting time if you should be working - assuming you're not talking about work of course.
Would you describe talking as nothing other than a timesink - even though it obviously can be at times.
Communication has its uses but do those uses outweigh the time lost on it that might be spent doing other things?
I've had them - and yes, not good for the head. I was introduced to them by an Irishman here in Seoul - though I've heard they are very popular in Korea in general. This makes sense, as a game called Titanic, where you float a shot glass in beer and take turns pouring in soju until it sinks and the loser drinks it in one shot, is incredibly popular amongst businessmen. And English teachers.
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